By Daniel Dideriksen @MKTG

The NBA is a hotbed for player’s personalities to thrive. There’s no other American sport that can match the number of close-up camera cuts to player reactions or have its fans sitting mere feet away from game action. If you’re lucky, you’ll even have a player land in your lap.

The incredible marketability of NBA players has been a contributing factor to the current eye-popping media rights negotiations (a rumored $76 billion over 11 years, 2.5 times the previous deal). In these high-stakes partnerships, watch for players to play a central role in the marketing of the networks who bet the house on the NBA. It wouldn’t be surprising if the new broadcast networks chose to mimic already popular player led content series, similar to “Quarterback” and “Full Swing” on Netflix. As Kirk Cousins and Joel Dahmen can attest, it’s often the lesser-known individuals with big personalities who make the biggest impression on fans. Luckily (some may say unluckily) for the NBA, the league has no shortage of big personalities.

This unique aspect of the NBA allows the league to develop distinctive characters for brands to utilize for one-of-a-kind campaigns. Some brands have capitalized on this opportunity by focusing on players that aren’t the typical faces of the league. While players like Stephen Curry and LeBron James are seen across clothing, automobile, and food/beverage categories, finding players who are less exposed may be a better route forward.

1. A “Despicable” face of a new ad: Three-time MVP Nikola Jokić has typically shied away from brand partnerships. However, 2023 marked a shift in this mindset, as Jokić was seen across television and social media in his new Hotels.com advertisements and nautical themed shoe deal. Universal / Illumination saw this as an opportunity to capitalize on Jokić’s unique lookalike to kick off the NBA playoffs. After fans noticed a similarity to the cartoon “supervillain,” Despicable Me 4 tapped Jokić to participate in a one-off trailer for the new movie.  To tie everything together, Jokić came dressed to Game 1 of his playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers as his movie doppelganger… and promptly dropped 32/12/7 in a Nuggets win. Pretty despicable if you’re a Lakers fan.

2. It’s gotta be the shoes: After a meteoric rise to popularity after his rookie year, it was a surprise to many when Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves, the undrafted, skinny kid from Oklahoma, signed a shoe deal with Chinese company Rigorer in 2022. This turned out to be just the start of a fruitful relationship between the two sides, as Reaves / Rigorer released a signature “AR1” shoe in 2023 and announced that Reaves is now a shareholder in the shoe company. One has to imagine a signature pair of golf shoes are next to help Reaves with his “Hillbilly” game on the links.

3. This deal is bananas: If a star or fringe role player isn’t a good fit for brands, there’s even an opportunity to endorse NBA mascots. One of the most famous, and recognizable, mascots in the NBA is the Suns Gorilla (and yes, we all wonder why the Suns have a Gorilla mascot). Phoenix streetwear boutique Guest List saw an opportunity to outfit the Gorilla in rare clothing / shoes for games and it resulted in immediate earned media pickup across social media. Most importantly, no one can deny they helped outfit one well-dressed primate.  

There is clearly more than one way to find an atypical influencer for brands. One could be a multi-time MVP who is hiding in plain sight, or a notable role player on one of the most popular teams in the NBA. Heck, you can even sign a dunking gorilla if it’s a good brand fit. The ability to leverage personalities who fans don’t often see, and to showcase a never-before-seen side of themselves, can be powerful. And if you see any Minions wandering around, point them to Denver.